A group of children recently had the chance to experience the strange and wonderful properties of plants, using the five senses to learn about different species in a class held at Setsunan University's Hirakata Campus.
The children were given access to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences' medicinal botanical garden as part of the "Let's learn about the strangeness of plants" class. Featuring a greenhouse, the garden spans around 2,500 square meters and contains over 500 different species of plants.
Activities included hydrating basil seeds by soaking them in water, observing the blue-colored tea made from the butterfly pea flower change after adding lemon juice, as well as making natural shampoo out of Indian soapberry.
"It got me excited to go to university" said a 9-year-old Tanabe Higashi Elementary School pupil. "I was surprised to learn that you could make shampoo from plants."
The class held on Dec. 7 was spearheaded by the Kyotanabe municipal government in its first such tie-up with the university. Elementary school pupils from around the city took part.
